Milan Talkies review: Ali Fazal – Shraddha Srinath’s film is predictable, but breezy

Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Milan Talkies is predictable, sweet but a bit too long. So it might lose the attention of the audience. Following the typical Bollywood track, it deals with many things we’ve already seen. But Ali Fazal and Tigmanshu (who plays Ali’s father in the film) save the day. The film set in the heartland of India, follows the track right of small-town dreams, aspirations, love and a few more things. But the problem begins when everything else is put aside and only the love story takes center-stage. Read our full Milan Talkies review to know what we felt while watching the movie

What’s Milan Talkies about? Set in Allahabad, it is a story of a young man Anirudh aka Annu, who wants to become a Bollywood director. Running an exam-cheating-racket is a side-business for him, which the film deals with loosely, because it is normal, according to them. Meanwhile, he falls in love with a Brahmin girl, Maithili. They try to elope, but get caught. The film takes a three-year leap and the tables have turned. Annu is now a successful director and Maithili gets married to a local goon, who is impotent and an epitome of the evil husband. How their love story gets into the second innings, how they manage to meet again and finally get together forms the second half.

Yay: Let’s just appreciate that Tigmanshu has been able to bring actors like Sanjay Mishra, Ali Fazal, Ashutosh Rana and Rajiv Gupta under one roof. Ali Fazal  can now easily pass off as a small-town boy from North India. Seems like his last web outing Mirzapur was his workshop for Milan Talkies. But he is a great actor and you have to appreciate him for that. Shraddha Srinath in her first celluloid outing is decent, but has a lot to work on. Ashutosh Rana, Sanjay Mishra and Rajiv Gupta get their roles right. Sikander Kher on the other hand, will be getting calls to play villain after this one for sure.

While analysing and reviewing Milan Talkies a bit more, we feel it gets the tone right. Tigmanshu for himself, has written a character that is contradictory to everyone else around him, and he wins. Young guys consider ads coming on their YouTube content as a validation that their work is great. Or thinking that Mumbai is the only place that can appreciate their calibre, Tigmanshu as director gets that fact right.

Nay: Without being too much critical in this Milan Talkies review, we must point out a few things we didn’t like. Firstly, with this cast of amazing actors under one roof, it is the maker’s job to bring out their A-game. Which didn’t happen much! Secondly, the timeline of the film is a major problem. The first film they watch together is Badmaash Company which released in 2010. The film takes a three-year leap and comes to 2013 where Race 3 is screening in the theatre, which released in 2018. Please explain? Thirdly, the 140 minutes or two-and-a-half hour run-time is a bit too long and stretched. Lastly, cinematography by Hari K. Vedantam is abrupt. Random cuts, unnoticed flashbacks and too much ‘zoom in’ makes it look like five episodes of daily soap merged into one.

CineBlitz Verdict: Milan Talkies isn’t a brilliant film, but a light hearted drama that Bollywood lovers might endorse! There are flaws, however, Tigmanshu has managed to blow some life in his dream project, and his dedication has made it possible after so many years. Watch it if you are an Ali Fazal fan or if you just want to aimlessly chill a bit.

Star rating: 2.5 stars